Chapter 5
Severus's vision suddenly darkened, through his tears, he vaguely saw James's face magnified in front of him. Before he could dodge, he felt a soft sensation on his lips, it was a delicate light touch, transmitting warmth to Severus's cold lips, making him unable to help but be stunned. In the quiet space, the sound of the two people's heartbeats almost exploding became clearer than ever.
It didn't take more than a second for Severus to quickly push James back. He frantically backed away, while James was still bewildered, not understanding what had just happened. James' surprise caused his magic to loosen, allowing Severus to escape from Incarcerous. All the blood in Severus' body was boiling, urging him to throw a punch at the face of the person sitting dumbfoundedly across from him.
"Fuck! Are you out of your mind?"
Severus roared, feeling his face turn beet red with shame and anger. Only then did James seem to snap out of his daze, slowly touching his lips, his eyes wide as if they were about to pop out.
"What- the heck? What did you just do to me?"
"I should be the one asking that question, you idiot."
Seeing James gaping like a fish out of water, Severus felt both furious and helpless. He suppressed the urge to punch that hateful face again, glaring threateningly.
"I don't know what game you guys are playing, but if you dare put your filthy lips on mine again, I'll make sure to sew your mouth shut."
"What? I didn't-"
Severus stood up, he was tired of hearing the Marauders' excuses, especially when he had to hear them from Potter, the liar who was always stubborn and never admitted his mistakes.
Right now he just wanted to find a quiet place to calm down, not everyone could stay relaxed after being kissed on the lips by two sworn enemies. But of course James wouldn't let him go so easily. He stood up in a panic, grabbed his sleeve, and roughly dragged him back.
"Listen, I just lost my balance and leaned forward, I didn't mean to ki- press to your lips."
Severus shook James' hand off in frustration, rolling his eyes, growing increasingly annoyed with his ridiculous excuses. He used a disdainful look to express his disbelief, revealing a faint smile.
"Well, I see," said Severus, his calm tone turning sarcastic, "after all, Mr. Potter is a all brawn and no brain, I cannot blame someone who cannot use his mind to control his limbs."
An angry look crossed James's face, but he didn't roar or argue back like Severus expected, he just clenched his fists and unclenched them, seemingly trying to keep himself calm.
Suddenly, James put his hand on Severus' shoulder. He frowned, trying to push James away but he tightened his grip on his shoulder. His copper brown eyes flashed with a rare seriousness despite a little panic.
"Snape, I'm sorry," Severus' eyes widened in surprise, "please forget about this. Pretend it never happened. And don't tell anyone."
Severus let out a breath, okay, this made perfect sense. When he heard James say sorry, Severus suspected that his ears might have a problem, but luckily James's next words made Severus regain confidence in his hearing. He wasn't apologizing for torturing Severus, but because he wanted Severus to keep his secret. The bastard had no concept of remorse, and he only managed to mumble a half-hearted apology just to keep Severus' mouth shut.
This realization lit a fire of rage in Severus. He felt played, lied to, and used. He had always been like this, toyed with by bullies for their amusement. Severus gritted his teeth, he was not some clown to entertain these bastards.
"Why should I be silent?" Severus's lilting tone drawled provocatively, "Wouldn't it be more fun to see the proud James Potter's reputation ruined by rumours of intimacy with a greasy Slytherin?"
James's expression turned surprised, but was quickly replaced with menace. "Don't even think about it."
Seeing James's angry expression, Severus became interested, he continued to mock, "You're only now worried about your reputation? Why didn't you think of that before kissing me? I wonder how people will react to another perverted side of James Potter? Especially Lily, she must be very disappointed in you."
Severus's actions of adding insult to injury had obviously caused James to completely lose the little bit of composure he was trying to maintain, he pushed Severus against the wall, sneering, "You think people will believe a lowly lying Slytherin like you? You think people will believe that I, the honorable prefect of Griffindor, would put my lips on a disgusting toad like you? Don't be ridiculous."
James' harsh words broke Severus' heart into pieces. His heart went cold as he realized that James was completely right. Well, compared to a famous Gryffindor, who would believe in an inferior Slytherin like him? Even his best friend, the only one who had faith in him, left him for this liar. The feeling of failure increased when he realized that James could freely torment him, because everyone trusted this prestigious and illustrious Potter heir, believing in his lies and thinking his actions were heroic and brave.
But Severus had no one's trust, no one.
Feeling satisfied with Severus's despair, James smirked, letting Severus go, not forgetting to mock him, "Do you understand now, little Snivellus? You should probably feel happy that you got to touch my lips instead of angry. Maybe that will be the last time you get to kiss someone else, because a filthy person like you will never be loved by anyone, so take it as an honor."
With that said, James left feeling smug. The joy didn't last long as it was replaced by a painful feeling from behind him. He could smell the rusty scent of blood suddenly rushing into his nose. Before he collapsed in pain, he could only vaguely see Severus's tearful face. He picked up the wand that had been thrown away, pointed it at him, and mumbled shakily but resolutely, "Sectumsempra."